


V Route: Unlocked

by Kiki_Kai



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: 707 Route Spoilers, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Jaehee Route Spoilers, Jumin Route Spoilers, Long, Other, POV Third Person, Secret route spoilers, Tears, V Route, Yoosung Route Spoilers, Zen Route Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-24 14:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8375254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiki_Kai/pseuds/Kiki_Kai
Summary: "The sound of the gun firing was quickly followed with screams and gasps of shock. Jihyun seemed to watch everything in slow motion as the bullet flew towards him, only to be stopped by the body of Miyumi. The room was strangely quiet as the blood scattered onto the floor from her abdomen, but her glare at the time seemed far more dangerous than the gun Saeran was holding."





	1. Prologue: Dreaded Words

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! As I'm going through a rough time, I decided to stress write about my favorite character in this dorky game.  
> Warning! Spoilers ahead for most routes! Especially 707's and the secret endings! There may also be some nsfw things in there. I dunno, I haven't written it all yet.  
> Cheers and thanks for the reads!

The sound of cold chains met his ears. By now, the sound was all too familiar. He knew that if he struggled against them, both the freezing metal and friction against his skin would harm him. To his surprise, he always did. If he tried to open is eyes, everything would be too dark to see. It was him and his senses. It was the same feelings he had in his everyday life. The feeling of being trapped.

The most painful experience was the pain in his back. He knew he was bleeding, but it would always take the longest to comprehend, or to accept. The chains were wet, soaked because of the tears. The metallic taste in his mouth was hard to place; was that blood, or the chains that binded him?

The pain spread across his body like wildfire the more he attempted to break free. The chains were the burdens of others. All he wanted was to heal the others, make them feel alive while he slowly died. But something inside him felt wrong when he said that. It was never something he would openly admit, but the feeling was so strong that he thought he could break the chains.

It was never that strong though.

It was only until he tried to scream for help in his dream did he wake. As he processed the world around him, blue eyes filled with fear, cyan hair a mess and body panting, he yelped as his phone loudly called to him. After the initial panic died down, and the stream of cuss words had left his mouth, he picked up his phone to find Luciel calling him. He sighed and picked up the phone.

"Yeah?" he groggily responded, clunking his head into his pillow.

"We need you in the chat room." Luciel's voice was stern, something that Jihyun couldn't say no to.

"I'll be there in a minute. Why? Did something happen?"

"Someone just joined the chat. Someone who's not in the RFA."

"What? You're kidding me." He brought his head up from the pillow, more alert to the conversation at hand. "How is that possible? I thought you completed the algorithm?"

"I did, but there's even more to the story."

"Okay?"

Silence.

"Luciel?"

"Oh, shit, sorry, I spotted a cat outside."

Jihyun gave a little chuckle. "Alright, continue then."

"So, I traced the IP address and did a general sweep on the person, right?"

"Uhuh?"

"Her name is Miyumi Takenishi, Japanese decent, not much on her except for a couple of places where she works and the normal house shit. She seems to check out so far, nothing really suspicious if you exclude the guys trying to hit on her. Seriously those guys are like, hella weird."

"So she's safe? Does she seem to have any general knowledge of technology to be able to hack into the chat rooms?"

"No. In fact, she seems pretty clueless when it comes to technology, but I would have to do a deeper sweep to be able to figure out for sure."

"Alright, so that leaves the question of how did she get in in the first place?"

"She said that someone with the username 'Unknown' lead her to where she is right now and then deleted the chat room, forcing her into our chat room."

"And where is she now."

A disgruntled sigh left the hackers mouth. From the situation they had, something was obviously going on, but that sigh left Jihyun uncomfortable. If this Miyumi Takenishi girl was where he thought she was...

"...You're not going to like this."

Please no.

"Where is she?"

Don't let her be there.

"Rika's apartment."

She was.

There was a long pause that followed those words. Saeyoung didn't even attempt to say any words of comfort. For a man like V, he needed to process the situation, and for that, he needed silence. He and V both knew the dangers of her both being in the chat and being in Rika's apartment. Especially because she was in her apartment. That was the most dangerous part. One wrong move and...

"She didn't break in, did she?"

"If she did, she would have been dead by now. No, someone gave her the passcode."

More silence. It was going to take V a long while to accept this, but a decision had to be made. Saeyoung would of course support him, as the rest of the RFA members would but.. It was hard for him to hear the quiet sobs and the small sniffles that V was so desperately trying to hide. This was a sensitive subject, brought back for everyone to feel pain once more.

"I'm going to need time. I need to think this over more. Is that acceptable."

"Yeah. Go ahead. I'll keep searching her to see what I can find. Just... Be safe, V."

The line went dead, and Jihyun had to scoff at the last remark. It wasn't like he had the will to hurt himself, not after seeing the pain Rika went through, and how much he was trying to save her from situations like that. As tears fell down his face, he wondered what exactly she was up to, what she was planning exactly. He opened up his lockscreen, barely able to see the picture of beauty that was there. It was alright though, he had already memorized it. A sun set, the ocean, and Rika. It wasn't long until he was questioning his ability to really save her.

But his brain couldn't think that through right now. He let out a groan, buried his face into his pillow, and wondered what kind of coffee he should brew to actually wake him up.


	2. 1: My Name

It had only been four days since Jihyun allowed Miyumi into the chat, and as such, into the RFA. He had already figured out that Rika was up to something, but finding out what was harder than it looked. Infiltrating into Mint Eye was never easy, especially since he stood out like a sore thumb. But it would be worth it, to protect the ones he cared about. It started to become a nightly thing to check the chats. Rarely would he ever participate in them. If he did, he would be drowning in a sea of questions from the other RFA members. Yoosung absolutely hated him, Jaehee was skeptical, Zen trusted him, although only to an extent. After that, Jumin was wondering where he was, and Luciel was worried, but too out of it to look further past his work.

So while he felt the collective worry and negativity from the group, he always checked. Not only to make sure everyone was okay, but because of the silly little responses Miyumi gave. He knew the facts about her, to an extent. He still let her in, despite an entire part of her life being completely erased from age eight to nineteen. She was currently 23, going to college at SKY University (Jihyun was surprised that Yoosung hadn't met her yet), and worked at a convenience store not far from her original apartment. She was attempting to major in music and minor in teaching, and desperately wanted a golden retriever puppy. Other than that, only the few things she said in chat were known to anyone in the group. Even Saeyoung was having a hard time digging anything up. 

"Yeah, that entire part of her life is just gone," he told Jihyun over the phone one day. "I can't find anything past age eight. I did find some records of her and another child being adopted at age four, and then a lawsuit with the family when she was seven, but it's like once she passed age eight, everything about her just went into the void."

"What was the lawsuit about?" Jihyun questioned, twirling a pencil around idly as he sat in the back of a car. "Do you know?"

"Well, that's the thing. Even the lawsuit seems fishy. I guess it was domestic abuse and child abuse, the wife against the husband, but since then, the couple that adopted her seems to be MIA, and any jury members or court figures who I've tried to ask about the case seem completely clueless about it all. It's weird."

It definitely gave Jihyun something to think about, for sure. Of course, even if he didn't accept her, she would still be in danger. Rika would have never let a failed plan go off the hook that easily. He would never let someone completely innocent be hurt because of him, or because of Rika.

A sigh left his lips. He didn't even realize that he was taking his glasses off until his vision faltered. He could barely see anything now. Whatever he could see was so blurry it was hard to even make out the silhouette. So he just closed them, leaning his head against the seat of the car. His fingertips glided across his eyelids, giving a small frown as he felt the scar tissue all too clearly. Right then and there he almost punched out the window, only to be interrupted by the sound of his phone yelling at him again.

After shuffling through the stupid amount of receipts and change in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and automatically answered it. A swipe motion was not that hard to accomplish as a blind man.

"Hello?" His voice came out more exasperated than he anticipated.

"Oh! I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

It was a female's voice, and one so sickeningly sweet it took him off guard. Just so smooth and cute he couldn't even hold back a startled laugh.

"Can I ask who this is first?"

A squeak followed. "Eep! Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't even introduce myself! Oh my gosh I'm such a dork. Hi! My name is Miuymi!"

"Miyumi?"

"See your voice says you don't know me but the icon on your phone says that you're lying."

"Wha--? How did you get my phone number?"

She giggled and shuffled around things on the other side of the line. "Hehe, well see, you have a world class hacker that kinda knows you personally who can be easily bribed with cat pictures and collector's edition bottles of Phd. Pepper."

Jihyun couldn't hold back a laugh. "You're not wrong about that. I'm surprised that you called, though. Usually only Luciel or Jumin calls me."

"That's kind of why I called. I wanted to check if you were okay."

The statement took him off guard, she could tell. He was silent for a little while, and she could tell right then and there that there was more to this man than was said in the chats. When he spoke again, he seemed shaken and taken aback. It was something that Miyumi didn't think many people experienced.

"You...wanted to check on me?"

"Yeah! Having only Jumin and Seven call you seems pretty lonely, doesn't it?"

"It can be sometimes."

"That's why I wanted to check on you! You're such a nice guy in the chats, I thought that you would be okay with someone giving you a little laugh, haha."

"It's greatly appreciated, to be sure."

"Hey V?"

"Yeah?"

"Is V your real name?"

"Haha, no. It's an alias for when I take my pictures."

"What's your real name?"

A moment of silence came across him, and the question of trusting someone with that was brought up. Would he trust a woman with his real name? After he gave it to Rika? Maybe it was him being petty and paranoid, but it was such a concern of his that the silence went on for a little too long.

"...Hehe, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

"What?"

"I can tell you have a lot going on right now...--"

_ No. _

"--...So I'll let you go, alright?"

_ Please. _

"Jihyun."

_ Don't let me push you away. _

"What?"

"...My name is Jihyun. Jihyun Kim. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was that quiet."

_ Please stay. _

"Jihyun... I like that name. It suits you. More than V does, I think."

"You think?"

"Yeah! I like it. It's cute."

"Haha, thank you. Yours is cute too."

"Oh! U-Uhm.. Thank you! A lot of people call me Mimi instead, but I haven't really said it to the chat yet, haha."

"Mimi? That's cute too."

"Heh.. Thanks. Oh, shoot! I'm going to be late to class! See what you do to me? Haha, I'll let you go."

"Mimi?"

"Yes?"

"Can I call you again sometime?"

_ Will you stay? _

"Yeah! I'd love that! Have a good night, Jihyun!"

\-------------------

When he got home, he was still grinning to himself. He had ended up stalking the chats on his way home, doing his best to not actually participate in any of them. Once he got home, he used his cane to feel around to his room and collapsed onto his bed. After such a long day, the cold sheets felt good, and he ended up stripping down to his underwear. The freezing spot that he was in on his bed quickly became lukewarm, and once comfortable, a long sigh parted from his lips.

She had been on his mind this entire time, that Miyumi girl. It was just one surprising thing after another with her. First, she called him just to check if he was okay. Second, she figured out that he had a lot on his mind not even two minutes into the call. Lastly, he said his real name to her. And now, here he was, still not able to stop thinking about her.

_ If I could only see her... _

He caught himself in the middle of his thoughts and violently shook his head. No, he wasn't going to do that. He had Rika to save, and that was the only person he loved. Their souls were connected, and he was her sun. He also had the members of the RFA to protect. He was not going to put his family in danger because of the thoughts of a girl he barely even knew.

The chains were still there. They would always be there. As painful as they were, the pain was finally numbing after all these years. Sometimes he wished that his family was like Jumin's. They were both born with silver spoons, but while Jumin's stayed straight, Jihyun's broke in two. It was just meant to be.

And yet... why did it feel like the chains were loosening?

These thoughts lulled him to sleep, his drowsiness winning himself over. He was kind of glad that no one lived with him, because both him and the covers were completely strewn about with his hand wrapped around his phone. He didn't even realize he was snoring, his dreams taking control of his brain once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop stress writing haha. I don't know what else to say except for that Jihyun is probably a bigger dork than we realize. I hope you guys enjoy! And please leave feedback! I want to know how I'm doing ;w;


	3. 2: Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack! Sorry for the long amount of time between updates. A lot of stuff has been going on in my life, so it's been hard to write. I also apologize for the small chapter, but I at least wanted to get something out. Hope you enjoy regardless!

His dream had changed. The chains didn't hurt as much, and he had far more mobility. When he looked around, it was no longer pitch black. At the far end of his abyss, there seemed to be cracks in the darkness. Like it had fractured. There was no longer a metallic taste in his mouth, though he was still in pain.

Jihyun was confused at all of the changes. He moved his hand along the ground, figuring out that he was chained to concrete. His fingers glided across something soft and seemingly delicate, and as he picked it up, a small amount of light came from it. The light faded almost instantly, but it stayed long enough for Jihyun to figure out that it was a feather.

The light from the cracks was a little bit too far to give him sufficient sight of what was around him, but he understood his situation a little more now. It was as if someone slapped him with reality, making him realize the circumstances. A small smile came to his face as he looked at the cracks. It may have been a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless, which was something that was hard to find for him now.

He pulled at the chains around his body. They were definitely looser, as well as weaker. Yet he didn't have the strength to break them. Even so, it gave him a small amount of hope. If he couldn't break the chains, maybe he could loosen them enough to slip out of them. The rest of the dream was spent exploring his cage in whatever way he could. The chains had begun to dry.

\-------

He woke up with his phone complaining about it's battery. Jihyun groggily opened his eyes to see that his phone was at 5%. With a groan, he got up and connected his charger,  then looked at his mirror, surprised for a second that he could see himself better. Of course, things were still massively blurry, but that didn't change the fact that he could see a little more than just his figure now.

Jihyun got up and stretched, making his way to his kitchen. His kitchen was directly connected to his living room, and large windows outlooking the city from his hill. The countertops were granite with lights hanging from above. Everything he needed was under or in the counter really: his fridge, his microwave, and mini pantry were all under it, and his sink and oven were connected to either side. There was plenty of countertop space to make a meal, but of course, the most important piece of equipment there was the coffee machine.

After brewing a particularly strong cup of coffee, he sat down on his couch and tried to process what his dream was. Something inside him felt relieved, but another side of him felt worried. Was he ready to break the chains? What would be waiting for him outside of his darkness? Those thoughts are what started to plague his mind, when he heard his phone ringing from his room.

The sound of Iron Man's theme song was very loud for that morning. With another groan, he got up and made his way to his room, while also narrowly missing a couple of walls. The ID said MIMI on his screen, and Jihyun found himself answering it without even realizing what he had done.

"Hello?"

"Jihyun!"

A smile appeared on his face when he heard her excited tone. A chuckle immediately followed.

"Someone seems very excited this morning."

She giggled. "Jihyun, it's past noon."

"It is?"

"Yes! It's 12:30! Did you just wake up?"

"Totally did not."

They both laughed, and Jihyun found himself laying on his bed, listening to her. There was something about the way that she said his name that made his stomach fill up with butterflies. It was only the fifth day that she was in the chat, and he could already feel something changing for him. What was it about this woman?

"Oh! Look at the time. My lunch break's nearly up." A sigh came from her, followed by a little giggle. "I don't want to hang up the phone..."

It was Jihyun's turn to sigh. "I... don't want to either."

"Jihyun?"

"Hm?"

"When can I meet you?"

His heart made a little leap. "I.. don't know. I thought we would be meeting at the party, but if that's too long to wait..."

"Two days from now, I have a day off. Wanna meet up then?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Just text me what you want to do before then."

"Alright! It's a date! Oh, I really have to go now. I'll see you later, Jihyun!"

_ Click. _

"...Yes. It's a date."

It took Jihyun a hot shower and a bit of food to realize that, yes, she just asked him on a date, and yes, he agreed to it. Once he realized it, mid chew from his Captain Crunch, he felt his face get hot and his stomach turn. His face hit his hands so quickly that water sprayed from his hair and his towel had a hard time staying on.

What was he doing?! He would be going on a date with a girl he barely knew, who he had never seen in person, and ultimately betraying Rika. While his face was in his hands, his fingers traced over the bumps and ridges on the inside of his eyelids, the scar tissue. He couldn't get ahead of himself.

...But was it okay to betray Rika? To move on? They had promised their souls to be intertwined forever. He said that he would heal her, take away her pain, and that he loved her with every fiber of his being. Was it okay to turn against that? To turn his back on his ex lover and fall for someone else? 

What did I just say? he thought to himself. Don't get ahead of yourself, dumbass.

He ended up going to his room once more, dropping his towel and picking out his underwear for the day. He decided to go with Captain America boxers, and made himself get dressed. Looking at the time, he decided that it wouldn't be good to go to Mint Eye, since it took so long to get there. As Jihyun glanced at his camera, the camera he hadn't used in a while, a small smile came across his face. He picked it up, examined it, then picked up his keys. He was going to enjoy himself today. Not even Rika could take that away from him.


	4. Needed Embrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psssst! How am I doing? Do you all like the story? I'd love your guy's feedback! Anyways have this chapter with Jihyun being a total dork.

The day was already going great when Jihyun walked into a wall.

A loud, disgruntled moan came from him, and he decided that a couple more seconds of sleep would be good as he rested his head against the wall. He stood there, with Incredible Hulk boxers on and a comic book themed coffee mug in his hand, only with stupidly messy hair to top it off. As he leaned against the wall, he yawned, and started his morning routine.

After his shower, breakfast and lazily getting dressed, it was when he was making sure his hair was parted correctly that he looked himself in the eye. As best as he could at least with damaged eyes and a very dirty mirror. Jihyun took a deep breath and adjusted his black blazer so it actually fit properly on his white tee. His casual skinny jeans were worn, but worked well with his combat boots.

He didn't really dress up like this a lot, especially not for dates, but he couldn't help it. When he was picking them out, something just seemed to work with them and this occasion. They both had agreed to not go to Rika's apartment from the get go, so Jihyun would be meeting Mimi at a little restaurant that she liked to go to. With one last check of his phone, he headed out to his car, where his driver was waiting.

\------

The restaurant was cute. With V's glasses on, Mimi hoped that he could see it well enough. She loved the look of the old stone against the new, handmade rails, the pots of flowers hanging from the top of the building, extended out into the balcony, and the fact that it was completely open air. There were windows everywhere, and some of the ceiling was opened up to have the sun shine into the room. It was very cute.

But what was even cuter was V himself. When he first arrived, stepping out of his car with a driver (c'mon, only rich people do that), camera around his neck and looking like he just came out of a fashion magazine, Mimi had to wonder if she was accidentally going on a date with a supermodel or something.

Sure, she had seen photos of V before, mostly from the messenger, but the real life thing was ten times better. His blazer worked perfectly with his hair and white shirt, his faded jeans gave an authentic look, all topped off with his glasses and boots. The strange thing is that he didn't even take off his glasses inside. Mimi had been told that he had problems with his eyes, but that got more evident when he furrowed his brow at the menu.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, curious at his expression.

"Ah! Sorry, it's just hard to see the menu is all. No worries."

He flashed a smile towards her, and her heart did a little loop-de-loop.

"I recommend the steak here, especially the sirloin," Mimi mentioned. "It's not overly pricey, and they manage to get the spices and juices to mix perfectly!"

V laughed. "I'm guessing you like to cook, huh?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do. I don't get to cook often, mostly because the things I like to cook are kind of expensive, but it's fun, that's for sure."

"That's nice. I'd like you to cook for me sometime."

A blush appeared on Mimi's face, and apparently a very noticeable, since V sent out a pretty big chuckle. "I'm also guessing that you're not used to people saying that to you, right?"

_ Well it's also because you're really cute. _

"U-Uh, yeah. I would love to cook for you though!"

"I'm glad. I look forward to it."

"Haha, awesome. Did you pick what you want?"

"Did you already pick?"

"Yep!"

"Hmm.. I think I'm going to go with the sirloin that you mentioned. That sounds pretty good."

V sighed and leaned back, looking towards the ceiling. "Is it open up there?"

Mimi looked up with him. "Yeah, they like this place to be as open as possible. There's windows up there that they close for when it rains or if it starts to get really cold. Cool, huh?"

"Wow, that's innovative."

A giggle sprung from Mimi, and Jihyun looked at her and smiled. She was cute, really. Adorable. She had a subtle beauty to her, with a brown sweater, tan (was that tan?) skirt, dark tights and flats. But what really got his attention was her face. Her blue eyes were so vivid that even with his hurting eyes, he could see them relatively clearly. Her hair was black, and with how the sunlight bounced and brought out each highlight and strand, he wondered if that was her real color of hair. She was just.. cute.

They ended up talking for a long while before Mimi suggested they head outside and lay on the grass. It was starting to get late at that point, with the sun beginning to set. The day was ending with smiles and giggles all around. That was when Mimi pulled him up, and Jihyun felt her hand on his skin. 

It took him a minute to register that she was looking up at him ad brushing away his hair. She was maybe a head shorter than him, maybe a little taller than that, but that didn't change the fact that she was fixated on his eyes. He knew that he had a blush on his face, but did he care? No. He just liked the moment they were sharing. It was like sparks were running through her fingers, because the electricity she was giving to him was insane. Jihyun had never had such an urge to kiss someone in his life, even with Rika.

"Jihyun..?"

It sounded like a plea, the way she said his name. She hadn't said it the entire night, and a part of him missed the fluidity that they had on the phone. A part of him was glad to hear that little plea, and some part of him just wanted to provide, to make sure that whatever she was pleading for was met.

"Yes?"

"Can I... see your eyes?"

There was a moment of hesitation, partly from shock, partly because he didn't want to let himself seem vulnerable. But he nodded with a small smile, and she took off his glasses. Even if his eyesight greatly diminished when they were taken off, he let her do what she wanted with his face. Just her touch on his skin was enough.

Jihyun was sure that the scar tissue was noticeable. A part of him was scared to have someone see that. Another was glad that someone wanted to explore him enough to have them see. He was in the middle of his racing thoughts when she said something that surprised him.

"There's still blue.."

She sounded like she was in a trance, completely sucked into him. It was that comment that brought his hand up to his eyes, closing them to examine the scar tissue beneath.

"Which one?" His voice was almost a whisper.

She had her hand gently move over his left eye, the one that he could still slightly see out of.

"This one."

"There's still blue?"

"Yes.. it's such a pretty blue. I want to see what your eyes are like normally. If they're as beautiful as your soul is now, I can't imagine what they would look like healed. Do they hurt?"

"Y-Yes.. They do."

"Why do you keep yourself in pain?"

"...As a reminder."

It was clear that she was frowning, and she started to take her hand away. Before she did, Mimi told him, "A kind and beautiful soul such as you doesn't deserve to be in so much pain."

In a swift movement, Jihyun took her hand and pulled her into a tight hug. The movement in and of itself pried a squeak from her, but she turned silent when she heard and felt the small sobs coming from him. Where they came from, she didn't know, but her arms wrapped around his neck, playing with his hair in order to help calm him.

It had been a long time since she was in the embrace of a man, and Mimi surprised herself with the feeling of safety she got from V. He felt like he really meant everything he said, that he was a very honest man when it came to it. Of course, everyone has secrets, and everyone has a backstory. His was one of great pain. It was obvious even just from his eye. She didn't know why he hung onto his pain, but she knew from personal experience that feeling constant pain was a hard habit to break.

That being said, she could feel his sincerity within that hug. When she started playing with his hair, he nuzzled into her neck and his sobs got stronger. He clung desperately to Mimi, and in turn, Mimi gave him the support that he needed. He was so warm, she wanted to never let go. A feeling like this should be cherished, she thought to herself. So she let him hold onto her as long as he needed.

That need ended up being longer than either of them thought, not that they were complaining. Jihyun didn't realize how much he missed having someone in his embrace, and be accepted with it. His stomach was full of butterflies, and her little coos of "It's okay, Jihyun.. It's okay" probably kept him there longer. He wanted to take her home with him and cuddle, watch a movie, fall asleep with her. But that was too quick. This might have even broken it for them.

After quite a while later, Mimi needed to go home to get some things done in preparation for work the next day. It caused them to reluctantly separated, and his glasses were given back. They parted ways, Jihyun in the car and Mimi walking back home. When he got back home, Jihyun ended up hugging a pillow in order to try keeping the feeling of her in his arms alive.


	5. Break the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha I'm so mean to characters. Sorry not sorry. Jihyun just needs to cuddle a bunch of people gdi.

In her dream, Mimi was looking through cracks in a dark orb. There was someone in there, she could tell, but getting to him would not be easy. She could slightly see him, his blue hair standing out. He looked so damaged... She couldn't just leave him there! He needed help!

But the orb was resisting, like it had a defense mechanism against intruders. With a large frown, Mimi floated back down to stand beside the orb. She couldn't see in, and she was guessing that the person in there couldn't see out. It made her feel so lonely just thinking about it.

This orb was his soul putting up a barrier to keep everyone and everything out. Mimi knew this well, since this wasn't the first time she had seen or experienced this. She remembered the darkness, the pain and the loneliness of wandering around in endless darkness. But a sound caught her ears, causing her brow to furrow.

Were those... the sound of chains?

If the boy in there was chained, then how did he move? How much pain was he really in? If she helped this boy, would she actually be able to free him? While thinking these thoughts, her hand moved to the orb. Touching another soul can either bring pain or destruction, but Mimi understood that sometimes destruction is necessary to move on.

As she touched the orb, a small fracture appeared on the surface. It wasn't enough to break, nor was it enough to give sight to what was inside. But it was a fracture, which meant that his soul was not rejecting her completely. He was rejecting her, yes, but not enough to push her away. When she touched the blackness, she could feel some of his emotions: fear, anger, hatred towards himself, sadness, and a hint of joy.

She didn't even realize that she had tears running down her face until she heard them drop to the white floor. She knew those feelings. She knew them well. They ended up becoming her demons, the emotions made to lash out when things became bad, the ones that broke friendships, and the ones that she couldn't seem to control.

Mimi sighed, a hand running over the multitude of scars spanning her torso. She would have to come back to his soul, to maybe break more of his soul, as bad as it sounded. It was never fun to break someone's soul, but she didn't know how else to get him free. When a soul becomes suffocating, darkness becomes too familiar.

\--------

Jihyun woke up clutching his pillow for dear life, panting. The sound of glass breaking rang through his ears, and the feeling of someone attempting to break him free was indescribable. What was he feeling? Was he scared? Was he happy? Everything was jumbled up in his head, making him clutch his pillow even more. When he moved his head to get up, there was almost an immediate clunk back onto his pillow with an audible wince.

"Ow, fuck!"

His eyes were burning, and in more pain than usual. It made him not even try to open his eyes for a good while. In that while, he figured out that his pillow was wet, and deduced that he had cried in his sleep. A very loud groan came from him, which was cut short by the sound of the door opening and footsteps making their way to his room. By the sound of it, they were dress shoes, and from the stature of the person's walk, he was male and had a lot of confidence.

"Jumin, why the fuck are you here?"

The steps stopped in the doorway, and an audible sigh followed. "Did you just wake up?"

"And if I did?"

"You're in a particularly bad mood today."

"Ugh.."

The steps moved closer to his bed, and another sigh slipped.

"You look like you're going to die if you let go of that pillow."

Jihyun actually opened his eyes, and a wince came from Jumin.

"What happened to your eyes? They're completely red. Do I need to get you a doctor?"

"I'm fine, they just hurt is all."

"V, you really don't look good. Did your little date with Mimi not go well?"

"It went fine, just had a bad dream is all."

Silence. Jihyun could tell that Jumin was concerned, and frankly, so was he. He couldn't see anything except for a little light and gray scenery. He was relying completely off of his senses right now. If this was the end of his eyes, then he wished that he had figured out more from Mint Eye.

Though, Jumin was not convinced. V's eyes looked very very agitated, to the point of swollen. It was obvious that something had happened in his sleep, with his eyes like that and him grasping onto his pillow so tight that he thought it was going to break. Whatever it was, Jumin was not going to tolerate it anymore.

"Get up."

"What?"

"At least sit up."

With a very loud groan of protest, V got up while Jumin went around his room and found decent clothes. Even though V had a maid, he didn't like her doing all of the work, so he would attempt to do some work around the house as well. Though, the way he folded his clothes and how many of them had so much variety, he didn't know. There was also an abundance of super hero shirts, which made Jumin furrow his brow. He ended up picking out shorts and a purple and white jersey. 

"Jumin, what are you doing?"

"I thought you said that you could still see slightly."

The silence is what told Jumin that that situation in particular had changed. He threw the clothes at V, who was looking in Jumin's direction but didn't react to it until the clothes actually hit him.

"What'd you do that for?"

"To test."

"To test what?"

"Your eyes."

"I said I'm fine."

"You can't see."

"I _said_ I'm _fine_ , Jumin."

"Just get dressed."

"What? Why?"

"We need to go somewhere, for you first."

"...Okay."

As V started to get dressed, Jumin picked up his phone. He did his best to make sure that his cursing was to a low mumble, but with V being so close to him, he knew he heard. He didn't say anything though, just turned his head in Jumin's direction. Jumin was more focused on the phone, though, than anything. 8 missed calls from Seven. 9 missed calls from him. Texts up the ass and V hadn't even seen them. More like he couldn't. He would have to explain the situation in the car.

"So where are we going?" V asked, ducking into Jumin's car.

"Driver Kim."

"Yes sir," Driver Kim replied.

"St. Mari's Hospital please."

A sigh enacted from V. "I thought you would do this eventually."

"You can't see, and your condition is getting worse."

"I said--"

"No, you're not fine. We're getting this fixed. But there's another topic that I came here to discuss with you."

The silence came as a continue. Jumin ran a hand through his hair.

"We've been trying to contact you for hours now, and ended up acting on our own because of your lack of responses."

"What happened?" Concern rose in his voice, as well as regret. Even with his eyes like that, they still looked worried.

"The special security system was hacked in Rika's apartment, and Seven, alone with Zen, ended up rushing over to the apartment to make sure it was in line. When we got there, the glass from the window was gone, as well as Mimi. Her phone was lying on the ground, broken and dead. There looked like there was a scuffle."

"Wait.. so..."

"Yes. Mimi was kidnapped."


	6. Desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Potentially triggering content beyond the break. Discretion is advised.

When she heard the window break, she was already in high alert. Window breaking was never a good thing in her book, and golly gee! Here we were again with it being a bad thing. Of course! For one, how did the guy even manage to break into the window of a 14th story apartment? And why did he look so... Edgy?

These are not the proper thoughts to be thinking, she told herself.

Okay yeah, but that tattoo was weird and the guy overall just acted strange. He had a very sadistic smile and falsely acted coi. He stepped around the glass from the window and made sure to kick some of it into a pile. Then he made his way over to Mimi, who was about to begin cooking dinner. She frowned, and, as precaution, made her stance as sassy as possible.

"Careful of the broken window over there," the mysterious man told her, smiling his sadistic smile.

"You're paying for it."

"No I'm not."

"Then reimburse me would be better."

"Still no."

"Okay dude I don't make enough money with my job to go around and use it on repairs."

He looked confused. "Aren't you, like, afraid at all? What's with the sassy pose?"

"If the answer you're looking for is yes, that is not the answer you'll be getting."

The mysterious man leaned against the wall, blocking the exit to both the kitchen and the door.  _ Stall for time. Eventually he'll make a move from being impatient, make his attack, allowing me to make my attack and my escape attempt. If I get it right, I can get a good chunk of distance between him and I. _

"You're feisty. Maybe you should come with me, nice and easy, so we can go to our everlasting party? Eh?"

He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and started to flip it, blade out. This guy obviously didn't care about the pain to be able to acquire her, and that was becoming very evident. Whoever this guy was, he was strong with intimidation tactics. But that was nothing to what Mimi was used to. This was amature work compared to the pain and intimidation she received as a child.

"I'm going to make my dinner is what I'm going to do. You can sit and wait."

His smile turned into a tight lipped frown. His eyes seared with annoyance, so much so that Mimi was sure that she could literally see it in them. His eyes were interesting, for sure. Around his iris and pupil was a slight ring of green, the kind of green that one would find unhealthy and weird, while his eyes were almost too bright of a blue. They didn't look natural in the slightest. There was obviously something that happened with him, and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of pain he was in to endure it.

"If you end up resisting, I'll have no choice but to kill you. You're invited to our everlasting party at Magenta. You should take up the offer."

"Sorry, but no. This steak looks really good and frankly, I don't want to miss the opportunity to cook it."

That was the tipping point. In a swift movement, he flipped his knife, grabbed it, and lunged. Mimi narrowly missed the knife, it clipping her side, giving her a little yelp in pain. That little yelp was enough to bring a metallic taste to her tongue.  _ Oh please God, if you exist, don't do this now. Please. _

Well apparently God was either taking a nap or he didn't exist, because her throat started to bleed significantly, to the point where it was trailing down her chin. From the wound in her side and her throat bleeding, things were a little hard. Like breathing. And talking. Even though that mysterious guy was behind her, she couldn't help falling to the ground, coughing and sputtering blood when she tried to take breaths as her body attempted to bring in air.

"H...elp."

Silence. The feeling of unconsciousness started to fall upon her. 

"Pl..ease..."

...

She felt the sensation of hands around her waist, but she couldn't tell if the unconsciousness was from him or from herself. Either way, slipping into it was far too easy. So easy that it was concerning. The darkness was not in her soul, but rather, in her experiences. This darkness? This darkness was her friend. It would keep her safe from the harsh realities of the world.

* * *

 

_ It's this dream again _ , she thought loosely, waiting for it to kick in.  _ Ugh.. Good riddance. _

She was underground, the ground wet and uncomfortable. The air was cold, especially with it being winter. She was huddled in a corner, freezing with barely anything to cover her. The blanket she was given was purposefully too light to actually do anything for warmth, and she had no shoes or socks to keep her feet warm. She felt like she was going to die. Then again, she had that feeling a lot.

She heard whimpering, and her gaze fell to the key dog. Mimi never knew his name, but he was the key dog because he had the keys constantly around his neck. He seemed to be looking at her with sympathy, and he slightly pawed over to her. She knew that dogs could feel emotions of other people, but if he was seeing her right now and whimpering, seeming sad, then something might have really been off with her. Maybe she looked like she was dying. Or maybe that she was finally accepting of her fate.

The key dog pawed closer. He had been trained to not do anything for her, especially since this was her father's workshop. She was in one cell, her twin brother was in the other. There was a large, mud wall that kept them apart, and usually, they were too tired to actually talk to each other when their father wasn't around.

As far as they knew, their father wasn't coming back around for a good while. He had been sent on a business trip, and a long one at that. So they had no food, no water, and no warmth. All they had was a dog. With a fairly large shiver, Mimi smiled. It felt strange to smile, especially at a dog, but even more so because she hadn't smiled since the day they got adopted. Her and her brother thought they were going to a good home, especially since the couple looked fancy and rich. It was something they never had.

The key dog was old, but still able to pull his weight. He was an husky, and very pretty. Mimi had always loved the colors that he had, the white, black and blue. A color scheme she had learned to love. The old dog eventually made his way to Mimi's cell, interesting her. He whimpered, and then barked.

With a lot of pain, and a lot of whimpering of her own, she stood up and made her way towards the bars. She could see the rest of her dad's workshop at that point. It had a lot of fancy tools that she wouldn't be able to use, and a lot of familiar things too. Whips. Knives. Brass knuckles. Her wounds hurt even more after looking at those. She focused her attention back to the key dog.

Around his collar was a series of keys, and then there was one key labeled "M" and the other "U". Taking the collar off from the dog, she used the M key on her lock. She couldn't help but give a small smirk. Her father thought that they were too reserved to fight back, she guessed. The gate opened with a loud moan of bars and rust, and the key dog barked.

Movement was heard from the other cell, with their own grunts of pain. Mimi, as quickly as she could, made her way to her brother's cell. He held onto the bars for support, gave a questioning look, but didn't say anything. They never said anything. They couldn't. Their voices were used for screams, not words. 

Utani's cage also opened loudly, and both of them took the other's hand. As they moved up the stairs, oh so slowly, the pain was settling in. But the desperation won. The trap door was still slightly open, enough for them to push it with their tiny bodies. Being no more than 10 and painfully malnourished, their strength was very hard to obtain.

The dog on the other hand was very excited. He was running around in circles, jumping, and looking expectantly at the door. The room had a bunch of wild game on it, from bear heads to gazelle to lions. At least, that's what they were told they were when they first got there. They didn't care much, they just moved to the door, faster now. Pulling it open, they were greeted with the cold, biting winds of winter.

It took them a while to find civilization, but they did it. A family found them walking along the side of the road and picked them up immediately. At the hospital, they were reported to have severe wounds, potential brain damage, frostbite, and a lot of other fancy words that she never remembered.

Sometimes the darkness gives her safety, other times, it brings her back to being vulnerable.


	7. My Rain, My Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL Stress writing! Hope y'all are doing well today, and be sure to keep safe!

It was probably a good idea that Jumin brought V to the hospital, because he was not a happy camper.

He didn't want to cooperate with the doctors on his eyes, but there seemed to be something inside him that was resisting the urge to resist. V would hesitate when he was given instructions, but then agree. Though, that didn't change the fact that he was pissed. Jumin could easily see that. His fists were clenched, knuckles white, teeth grinding and a bad attitude. When he spoke. He had gone back to the reserved person that he was when he got mad and tried not to say anything.

The doctor pulled back from V, sighing heavily. 

"Well, from the tests that we've ran, we've determined that it's fixable, but it will take three days of consecutive lasik treatments to get it all said and done. You'll have to stay here in the meantime. We'll switch you to another floor that's more suited for this."

With that the doctor walked out of the room, then turned back before closing the door.

"Do you need anything?"

"No."

He nodded, and closed the door.

A long, tired and annoyed breath came out of V, bringing Jumin's attention back. V was now in a hospital gown and leaning back on his bed. His eyes were closed and fists still clenched. Deep breaths came from him as he tried to stay calm, trying to keep himself together. Jumin knew as well as Seven that V needed quiet to be able to process. In this time, Jumin opened the messenger.

Almost immediately there were messages pouring in.

  
  


CHATROOM: ZEN, Yoosung, Jumin

ZEN: JUMIN!

Yoosung: Jumin!!

Jumin: Hello.

ZEN: Did you get ahold of V?

Jumin: Yes, and we're currently at the hospital.

Yoosung: [Shocked emoji]

ZEN: [Shocked emoji]

ZEN: Why are you at the hospital?!

ZEN: Did something else happen?

Jumin: I simply forced V to take care of his eyes.

Yoosung: What?

Yoosung: How'd you force him?

Jumin: By putting him in the car and driving.

ZEN: Hopefully you weren't the one driving..

Jumin: Of course not. Driver Kim drove us there.

ZEN: [ ... Emoji]

ZEN: Anyways, I'm glad that you found him.

ZEN: Why didn't he pick up his calls?

Yoosung: V is always mia. He should take some responsibility for once!

Yoosung: [Angry Emoji]

Jumin: He couldn't see the phone.

ZEN: What?

Jumin: His eyes got inflamed for some reason, but they determined that they were fixable.

\------707 has joined the chat------

707: JUMIN

707: akdjvnskdfjn

707: DID

707: YOU

707: FIND

707: HIM

707: ?!?!?!?!

Jumin: If you read what was said before then you would see that, yes, I did.

707: Oh. lol

ZEN: [ ... Emoji]

707: [Shocked Emoji]

707: You got him to fix his eyes?!

Jumin: I think he has another motive for getting his eyes fixed.

Yoosung: Whatever it is, we need to find Mimi!

ZEN: Yeah! She's been missing for a day now! 

Yoosung: [Crying Emoji]

Yoosung: she's been in here nine days! and she cnat even be hapyyp!

707: no one can be hapyyp

Yoosung: Shut up

707: lol

ZEN: Seven! Did you find anything on her?

Jumin: I would like to know that as well.

707: [Defeated Emoji]

707: ...no

ZEN: What?!

707: I haven't been able to find anything from her, but I went to the apartment again

707: it seemed someone was pretty hurt in the kitchen

707: there's a ton of blood in there

707: of course it's still a crime scene lol

ZEN: So you broke into a crime scene?

707: yah lol

Yoosung: [ ... Emoji]

Jumin: Did you find anything else?

Jumin: V would probably want to know.

707: hmm

707: her original laptop that she used for school was there

707: it looked like she was using it for a project in school

707: I guess the investigators didn't see it under her bed

707: so i took it back home yah?

ZEN: Yeah? Did you hack into it.

707: yeah and I found some weird shit

Jumin: "Weird shit"?

707: she has a folder dedicated to just

707: rain

Yoosung: Rain? 

Yoosung: [Confused Emoji]

Yoosung: Does she really like rain?

ZEN: V would know that more than us, probably

ZEN: Didn't they go on a date?

707: yah

Jumin: It seems his eyes were inflamed from tears and bacteria kept in the scar tissue.

707: yah?

ZEN: Scar tissue?

ZEN: [Confused Emoji]

Jumin: Yes, I'll give more updates as they come. Anyways, Seven.

Jumin: Please go back to your story.

707: right right lol

707: so, everything seemed normal on her computer except for the rain folder and another encrypted folder that i'm working on.

Yoosung: Encrypted folder?

ZEN: What was wrong with the rain folder?

707: it was just hundreds of pictures and notes to herself

707: actually it seemed more like a diary than anything

707: ...i'm surprised she trusted us, to be honest.

707: whoever this utani is, he's an enigma to her right now, and they went through a ton of shit together.

ZEN: like..?

707: you know torture in movies?

Yoosung: [Shocked Emoji]

Zen: [Shocked Emoji]

707: yeah..

707: i'm gonna go back to hacking this folder.

707: it's a toughy, but it's labeled "past" so

ZEN: Alright.

ZEN: I'm going to practice my lines to get this off of my head

Yoosung: I don't know if I can play LOLOL..

Yoosung: [Crying Emoji]

Yoosung: And there's a super big event today!

ZEN: Stop playing for a little bit lol

Yoosung: I'm.. going to go clean a little.

Yoosung: ..Maybe

Yoosung: Cya

\-------Yoosung has left the chat room------

707: I'll be back

\-------707 has left the chat room------

ZEN: Guess I'll head out too.

ZEN: Wherever Mr. Trust Fund Kid is, I hope he doesn't mess anything up.

\------ZEN has left the chat room-----

To be honest, Jumin was completely distracted by the doctor talking to V and him. He was explaining that they would be moved to the third floor, and then would be given a more permanent bed situation for the next three days. He was also explaining that three days might end up not being sufficient to fix his eyes fully, but after the first day they should see some results.

The doctor left again, and a little bit of worry came across V's face. His eyes already looked less inflamed, so he was wondering if he could see a little bit, or if it was still the same situation of him being completely blind now. Jumin moved in closer to the bed V was stationed at, and V looked his way. A sigh came from him, but this time, more worried than anything.

"Do you..."

"Hm?"

"No.. nevermind."

"V we've been friends for how many years. Just say it."

"Do you think.. she's okay?"

"Mimi?"

"Yes."

A huff came from Jumin. "I don't know. We don't even know where she was taken much less--"

"Mint Eye."

Jumin looked at the blue haired boy, startled. He was looking down at his hands, ashamed and fidgeting, like he wasn't ready to accept whatever lay next from the words he spoke. But Jumin was ready to pursue that remark, because if V and Jumin were acting completely separately, it was proven that things didn't work out.

"V, what's Mint Eye?"

"The place where the hacker came from. They kidnapped her I'm sure of it."

"What?"

"They must have figured out that I told her everything. So they took her. I wouldn't be surprised if they used this as bait." His hands started fidgeting more, bouncing fingers up and down. "And it's working."

"Who is  _ they _ ?"

"Rika."

Silence fell upon the room, bringing a somber feeling to the air. It seemed like everything was both still and falling apart. What kind of stuff had V been up to in his spare time? Was he just lying this whole time? Trying to cover stuff up? What the absolute fuck had he been doing?!

Jihyun could feel the anger rise in Jumin, as well as the confusion and shock. He was about to lash out, he could tell. Jumin, once he became his friend, was actually very easy to read, even without eyesight. He had loved Rika as well, though, Jihyun never told him that he knew. And now, the feeling of betrayal would be arising soon. A heavy sigh came in the direction of Jumin, but Jihyun didn't dare look up. If he had any sight, he didn't want to bare the weight of his gaze. It was something he couldn't handle right now.

"V--"

"I'll give you the truth, but I think everyone needs to hear it."

Another sigh.

"Once they move me, call everyone here, and I'll tell you all. Okay?"

"... V, this is a sudden act, even for you."

Jihyun sighed, and thought back to his new favorite memory. It surprised him that it wasn't of Rika any longer, but of Mimi. His hand in hers, her listening intently to his story, giggling when things were a little funny. When he was done with his story, Mimi squeezed his hand.

_ "You said that Rika was your sun, and you Rika's, right?" _

_ "Right." _

_ "Then who's your rain?" _

_ "My rain?" _

_ "Yeah! I have a firm belief that the rain washes away mistakes that you're ready to let go, the thunder is your soul voicing to the world it's struggled, and the lightning is your scars reflected on the sky. So, who's your storm? Who's your rain?" _

"What changed, V?"

_ "I can be your rain! I'll be the rain to erode your chains!" _

"I wanted to be her light."

_ "The darkness always follows me, and I have yet to find my light to scare it away." _

"If I get to be her light, and her my storm, maybe things will start looking up."

Another long silence, and Jumin got up and started calling everyone. Then V was moved, a little smile on his face.

 


	8. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all of your nice comments ... I really am glad you all are enjoying it, and your comments keep me going. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for making me laugh in these hard times. Love you all. Hope you enjoy.

The smile on V's face was unlike the ones in the past.

Jumin remembered that as a child, V would brush off the emotional weight he was carrying, and take all of the burden himself. And he would always do it with a smile, too, which always pissed off Jumin. He could never get through to him, only persuade him a little bit. If only he said something to his parents, to say that "Hey, I want love and attention", then maybe his parents would listen.

He never tried.

His logic is that his parents weren't the kind of people to love a child. They were artists. They didn't have time. They had to create art or their career would fail. That's what he had told Jumin the first time he was explaining about his parents. All with that small, somber smile. As V grew up with Jumin, Jumin was able to see a multitude of different sides from V. He was actually a very spontaneous guy, managing to find the right things at the right time for others, but never for himself.

They had canceled the party. Mimi was still missing, but they had gotten leads. The hacker had sent V a voicemail of her voice, but she sounded determined, despite her raspiness. It was four days later, and everyone was sitting in V's living room. With his eyes considerably better, he was moving around a lot more, trying to bring in happiness to himself and others.

Though, it wasn't like he wasn't sad. He had lost a lot of time to be able to go and get her out of there, but part of him knew that he wouldn't be able to do much without his sight. As Jihyun set the tea down on the table everyone got tense. He was acting different, more cheerful, and that wasn't what was needed in this time. No one knew what was making him so happy, but either way, it was at least good to see someone smiling.

As he sat down on the round couch, everyone in a circle, everyone tensed up. Hearing the truth was not always wanted, but instead needed. This was one of those situations. He needed to give the truth. The truth had been skewed far too long to be able to do anything logical.

Everyone was scared, to say the least. But, it was alright. Jihyun knew it would be alright in the end.

A big breath came from V, and everyone immediately moved forward. He laughed a little and took a breath.

"I'm going to say this right now, this is probably going to be very hard for me. Please, excuse me if some tears get thrown into the mix."

Another breath, followed by silence.

"I should first start off with the fact that Rika is alive."

The questions rolled in immediately.

"WHAT?!" shouted Yoosung.

"He's lying. He has to be..." Zen whispered to himself

A gasp from Jaehee, followed by sniffles and the pulling of a handkerchief.

Seven was more or less okay.

Jumin was stoic as ever.

"What do you mean she's alive?!" Yoosung hollered.

"I mean that she was never really dead. She left the RFA purposefully."

Silence continued, Yoosung stopped in his tracks.

"What exactly do you mean by 'left purposefully'?" Jumin quickly jumped in.

A big sigh. "Rika was mad at me. She thought that I loved the RFA more than her, and because I was loyal to her, she took my eyesight. After that, she left, and started a cult. The hacker is from the cult."

"So, what do you know about Mint Eye. That's the place, right?" Luciel questioned.

"It's an organization that Rika created in order to get back at us, the RFA. They brainwash those who are willing or unwilling to join and make them devoted servants to Rika. They think that she's their savior and that she can see the future."

"That makes... very little sense," Jaehee commented.

"Yeah!" Yoosung shouted, standing up defiantly. "She wasn't that kind of person! And she wouldn't have taken V's eyesight!"

"He's not lying about that," Saeyoung coldly told Yoosung. Everyone looked towards him, interested and slightly terrified. He had a glare like no other, and his entire demenor had changed. Only V had seen this side of him, and Saeyoung knew something was up when V had asked about the hacker prior. Said to wait until everyone gets together. He didn't like that.

Jumin sighed. "He's right. Whether that might be hard or not to believe for you, Rika definitely took his eyesight."

Yoosung slowly sat down, letting things set in. Everyone was letting it sit in, except one person.

"Who's the hacker?" Saeyoung asked.

A look of sympathy flashed on V's face. He looked resistant to say, but was also bracing himself to say the name.

"..Searan."

"Who?" Zen asked.

"S-Saeran? Saeran?! Saeran's part of a cult and you didn't fucking protect him?!"

Saeyoung leaped across the table, knocking over a couple of cups in the process, and started to punch V as hard as he could. He was consumed by rage. How dare he?! He didn't protect him! He promised! He fucking promised! Saeran would be okay with him gone! And now?! Now this news!?

"Seven! Stop!"

Jumin and Zen were holding Saeyoung back, and when his rage started to go down, his panting heavy, he realized the damage that he had done. Not just physically, but emotionally. V looked so broken in that moment, before he recomposed himself. Like he knew that this was going to happen, but he didn't know that it would be this bad. His lip was bleeding, and his eyes...

It was those cyan eyes that brought him back to reality. They were always so full of emotion, damaged or not. Even though there wasn't much scar tissue left, it was still slightly visible, but not enough to distract from the actual color of his eyes. Saeyoung once wondered if the soul was in the iris because of V. But there was more to this man than he realized.

Saeyoung gently got off of him, allowing V to sit up. He felt the blood on his lip, and reached for a paper towel to clean it up. Snacks and glasses were everywhere, and everyone was silent, staring, waiting for something to happen. V just sighed, sitting back up and giving an apologetic look to Saeyoung.

"He's completely under Rika's spell. There's nothing I can do anymore to try and bring him back. He hates me, and he hates you, both with a burning passion. I don't know what lies she ended up feeding him, but he's on a higher dose of the brainwashing than the others. I did everything I could."

If there was any point where V's Iron Man theme song was inappropriate, it was now.

It loudly signaled, and V looked down at the floor. His phone must have slipped in the commotion. When he leaned down and picked up the phone, he read the screen with apprehension. UNKNOWN is what it said, the number hidden. Slowly, and carefully, he answered the call and placed the phone to his ear.

"..Hello?"

"Jihyun?"

"Mimi?! Is that you?"

"Oh my God it's so great to hear your voice.."

Sobs came from the other line, and without noticing it, Jihyun had stood up and had started pacing. The others were staring at him expectantly, and the sobs got even louder from the other side. If anything, he was just glad to hear from her. She sounded better, somewhat, to a point. She was still raspy, and sounded desperate as well.

"Where are you, Mimi?"

"Uhm, on a road."

"A road?"

"Yeah, I think a highway. I finally got signal after walking for a couple of days."

"...But wait, if you're walking and on a road... Did you escape?"

"You could say that."

A laugh came from Jihyun, and everyone looked to the person closest to them.

"You fuckin' escaped.. Okay, can you describe to me the road that you're walking on?"

"I can't there's a dragon."

"A dragon?"

"Yeah it's big and purple and poofy."

"..A poofy dragon?"

"Yeah! He looks nice."

"Is there a chance that you're still coming down from drugs?"

"I think I am. Because I don't think dragons are real."

"Do you have any indication of where you are?"

"No but I just sent Seven a way to track this phone. I'm sure he's already on that."

Jihyun looked to Seven, who was typing away wildly on his phone. He looked up and nodded, and Jihyun smiled. 

"We're gonna get you. Stay put, okay?"

"Okay... I'm going to hide in the forest a little. I don't want someone to catch me. Oh hello Mister Dragon.."

"We're all coming, so stay safe."

"...You have such a nice light."

"...And your storm is refreshing."

A giggle came from her, and she said her goodbyes. Seven had already went to figure out what car would be best from Jihyun's garage. All the while, little questions were coming to him, from others and from himself. For one, how did she get out? Mint Eye was highly secured, so for her to get out would mean she either snuck out, somehow, or she fought literally everyone in there. Or she got help from an outside source.

For another, how long had she been wandering out there. Nervousness ran through Jihyun as they all piled into a minivan, whose only purpose in his garage is for trips with a lot of people. Otherwise, he had a bunch of sports cars and heavy duty trucks for sporting purposes. They also just looked really nice.

Seven whistled as he got in the driver's seat.

"Damn V, how many sports cars do you have?"

"A lot," he responded simply as he got in the passenger seat.

"How much money do you really have?" Yoosung whispered to himself, piling into the back. 

"Too much," Jihyun replied, a smile on his face as he looked at Yoosung.

"I will say, V, that your place is very extravagant," Jaehee commented.

"Thank you. It totally was not a gift from my parents, not at all."

"Your parents gave you a house as a gift?" Luciel questioned.

"And a couple of cars."

Everyone except for Jumin looked surprised. Jumin just looked smug.

"What?" he questioned.

"You're a rich boy?!" Yoosung shouted.

"I grew up with Jumin in the same rich kids neighborhood, of course I'm rich. I just don't gloat about it like Jumin does."

"Alright kiddos, let's get this party on the road." 

Seven activated the garage and started to head on the road, using his phone as a navigator. Jihyun sat back, another small smile creeping to his face.

_ You have a nice light. _

_...Yes. I'm glad you see it,  _ he thought to himself.  _ Your storm is indeed refreshing, and I can't wait to see you clearly. _

Saeyoung caught it for a second, then focused back on the road, but V was looking at the pictures on his phone. Except, these weren't of Rika. They were of Mimi instead. The smile on his face was identical to the smile he had the past couple days. Saeyoung couldn't help but give a sigh.

He didn't think he would ever see V with that smile again.

He didn't think V would fall in love.

  
  



	9. Welcome Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are dorks and I love you all. Thanks for your dorky comments, I love them all. Anyways have this short chapter. It was straight up stress writing so enjoy.

Jihyun didn't know when he fell asleep, but he definitely dreamed.

When he opened his eyes in his dreams, he caught his breath. He was looking into bright blue eyes, long, black hair draped over her body. Her eyes looked so concerned, her body so pale. Scars ran along her torso, and what seemed like wings were cut off, blood dried to what used to be white feathers.

She was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

He was still covered in chains, but they were so loose and wet that it didn't do much except for hold him in. There was obvious erosion on the chains, starting to turn them to rust. The girl frowned at him, worried. She was still a good ways away, seemingly afraid to come close. The question of how did she get in here came to his mind, then, he realized that there was light.

A bright blue sky with fluffy clouds lazily moved over them. Birds were singing, and the sound of rushing water met his ears somewhere to the right. Behind the girl, one last fraction of blackness covered up an expanse of forest. Flowers avoided it, keeping the floor concrete. Water rushed around it, and no life came close to it. When Jihyun looked down, he realized that he was still sitting on concrete, and him and his wings were practically bolted to the floor. There was blood around him, from his bleeding wings and the chains.

He frowned. A beautiful world was right there, only a couple of feet around him. A field of long grass had stopped at his concrete, and that made him angry. The girl was scared to step on his concrete, which made him even angrier. So, he started to struggle against his chains, wanting them to break, to leave, to set him free...

A vision of a woman with bright blonde hair and beautiful green eyes came across him. It stopped him from struggling, and in that moment, he felt fear. And then, he felt anger. Why was he stopping for her? Had she really taken him over? To the point where he couldn't even break himself free from his chains?

He was so frustrated. There was a world, right there, that he could experience. He couldn't even feel the breeze that the trees were swaying to. The songs of the birds started to fade, and the sound of water numbed itself. His fists clenched, looking down at the blood on the floor. That was his blood, taken from him from that blonde woman. If she hurt him, why was he still here? Why couldn't he break... free..?

He looked up at the shadow coming across him, meeting eyes once again with the black haired girl. A sweet smile had come across her face. She crouched down in front of Jihyun, getting to his level. Her eyes were so gorgeous, her complexion, her body, her scars, everything. She was beautiful. Her hand reached up to cup his face, sending sparks through him.

He leaned forward against the chains, eyes locked on hers. He wanted more of her, her touch, her body, her love. He wanted her. A frown came back upon himself when he was stopped abruptly from leaning forward. His restraints were really getting to him. The girl pouted, her hand moving down his body to the chains on his chest.

His skin tingled everywhere she touched, his breath coming out as pants and whimpers. Jihyun didn't even realize that he was doing it until she giggled. Her hand glided over one of the chains, immediately breaking it. Jihyun coughed and sputtered. A sudden wave of feelings that he had long forgotten about came back to him. Disappointment, hate, hope. The flowers moved closer, and part of the blackness disintegrated away. He understood then. That the chains broke because of others. Others who cared and loved for him. That's why the blackness was gone, was because she... broke... through.

A stunned look passed along Jihyun's face, looking back at her. If she broke through, then...

A little giggle came from her; it was music to his ears. She stood up and moved behind him, breaking some of the chains on his wings. A feeling of freedom rushed through him, adrenaline pumping in his veins. He felt water on his skin, and as he looked up, he saw storm clouds, lightly providing drops of rain. A smile sprung to his face, and though not all of the chains were broken, he was able to stand.

It felt so good to stand up and look around, to feel rain, to feel wind. To be able to see the beauty of the world. Jihyun looked to where the girl was, finding an empty space. Franticly looking for her, he saw her walking towards the shadows of the forest. He reached out for her, calling "Wait! Please wait!"

She looked back, blew a kiss, and walked into the shadows. Just like that, she disappeared, leaving Jihyun's heart pounding. He lowered his arm, looking at the chains still around his body. He pulled at them, breaking one of them and loosening another. The rain poured down on him, making him smile.

"Mimi... I..."

Jihyun's eye opened when he felt the car roll to a stop. In fact, all of the people in the car woke up. Seemed everyone except for Luciel had fallen asleep. Zen was wiping Yoosung's drool off of his shoulder, with Yoosung wiping his mouth. Jaehee and Jumin looked confused, eyes moving to Luciel. He was furiously tapping on his phone, eyes filled with worry.

"Luciel...? What's wrong?" Jihyun asked.

"She's moving."

Suddenly, everyone in the car was alert, Zen and Yoosung moving up to the middle of the van.

"She's moving? Isn't that good?" Yoosung questioned.

"That means she sees us right?" Zen followed up.

"No," Luciel countered. "It would be good if she was moving towards us at a slow pace, but she's moving away from us at a fast pace. Which means, someone found her, and she's now in a car."

"How far out are we from her?" Jumin asked.

"Maybe about an hour, hour and a half. Our only choice is to follow her. Jumin, I would have your security on speed dial."

"Already is."

"Good. Let's find her."

Luciel merged back onto the back highway, deep in the forest. Needless to say, no one fell back asleep after that.

  
  



	10. Savior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so behind on Nanowrimo lolol /)owo/) oh well. Ya'll make me smile. Hope you have a good day~

Mimi woke up in the arms of a woman.

She had no recollection of what really went down, all she knew was that she fell asleep next to a tree. If she had fallen asleep against a tree, then how was it that she was in a fancy room? The bed was overly comfy, and her eyes felt out focus. But she processed that the room had a lot of fine ornaments, beautiful lights, and a splash of blue mixed in with all the white.

Mimi figured she was against the bosom of the woman, who was running her hands through Mimi's hair, humming a little. The woman's other hand held her close, and Mimi felt like she was sinking into her. But she groaned and tried to move, which didn't work out well. It ended up that she stayed in her position because every muscle in her body felt like lead, though she managed to get out the groan.

The woman stopped playing with her hair and moved to look at her better.

"Good morning," she purred at Mimi.

"Where...?"

"You're at Mint Eye. Welcome to Magenta, the everlasting party."

"Magenta...?"

"Yes my dear."

"Who..."

"My name is Rika. And yours is?"

"..Mi..mi.."

"Mimi? That's a cute name for a cute girl."

"Where.."

"You're in my ro--"

"Is he..."

Rika narrowed her eyes at the girl. She was on a lot of drugs at the moment, blue eyes unfocused and mouth unable to close. She wondered if she had given her too much, but this made her think that she hadn't given her enough. Which, was concerning. If they gave her anymore, there would be a possibility of her overdosing and dying. But if she had the ability to still think of them... she would have to play this off well.

"Where is who?"

"My.. my light."

"Your light...?"

"Ji...hyun..."

Rika's body tensed up at that name. She had heard his nickname far too many times for comfort, but now, this girl, who had been there little more than two weeks, knew his real name? V barely ever gave out his real name. His real name was something of a burden, because it was usually only ever said when he was being yelled at. V also only gave out his name to people he knew for a long time, or the person was someone he was interested in, romantically.

Which meant that Rika had accidentally gotten the jackpot.

"He's not coming, my dear."

Mimi tensed in Rika's arms, and she tried to move.

"That's...That's not right."

That seemed to have woken her up a bit more, but the drugs still had her under Rika's control. She pressed Mimi's head back to her chest and started playing with her hair again, giving her false words to coax her into Rika's plans. She would not let this one get away if she could help it.

"He abandoned you."

"What.."

"He said that he was going to find you, and then started lounging at his place, waiting for you to perish."

Silence followed those words, and it seemed like she was trying to process what Rika was saying. She took the opportunity to keep reeling her in.

"If we hadn't come to save you, then you would have died in the middle of the woods!"

"Saved.. me?"

"Yes, and now you're safe and sound here at Mint Eye."

At the word safe, Mimi's body sunk back into Rika's, relaxing her body more. A smile came across Rika's face, knowing she had won. Even if this girl was more resilient than the normal disciples were, she had still latched onto her. If V really was interested in her, then she would be a needed disciple in the times ahead. 

"I'm.. safe."

"Yes, you're safe."

"Safe.."

Not long after, Mimi had fallen asleep. Another smile spread across Rika's face. Victory. She moved herself out from under Mimi's sleeping form, putting a pillow under her head and blankets over her body. Mimi still hadn't moved, and that remained the same as Rika quietly closed the door behind her.

She made her way through Mint Eye, making sure everything was okay. Diciples bowed to her wherever she went, giving her a sense of power. Her last stop after checking up on everyone was the computer room. As she opened the door, a boy with bright white hair and sickly blue eyes turned around in his chair and smiled at the blonde.

"Savior, how nice to see you."

"Likewise, Saeran."

"How is the new disciple? She was a bitch to find again after she escaped."

"Even so, she aided us, and she will become an even greater asset than we realized."

Saeran rose an eyebrow, leaning forward, interested. "In what way, may I ask?"

"It seems V is interested in this particular girl. We can break him more than ever before."

A smile spread across Saeran's face. "How did you figure that out?"

"She woke up and said his real name, which is the name that he only gives to people he knows for a while or people he likes."

Saeran laughed. "He's interested in a girl like that? She started spilling blood from her mouth when I gave her a little cut! What a weakling."

Rika sighed. "Nonetheless, to be able to keep her here and with us, we must treat her with respect."

"Why's that?"

"She is easily swayed by nice words and the feeling of safety. Which means if we continue that, then she'll start to rely on us and not the RFA. When you check on her later today, treat her nicely, will you?"

"No promises."

" _ Saeran _ ."

He gulped, seeing as Rika's entire expression changed. She looked more stern and controlling, as she usually did when she was starting to get annoyed. Her fists had clenched, and Saeran was sure that if he pushed her over the edge, those fists would be at his face in a second.

"We  _ cannot _ allow her to leave us. She is too big of an asset."

"...Yes, Savior."

A relieved sigh came from her. "Good. Now, how far away are they?"

He turned towards the monitors behind him. "Judging by the satellites, about fifteen minutes away."

"And is everything set up?"

"Everything is in place. We should have them all in our grasp soon."

Rika nodded. "Good. Keep it up. I don't want any of them to be in that horrid RFA anymore."

She slammed the door behind her, leaving Saeran to his thoughts. Saeyoung would surely be with them, which meant that he would be getting his revenge. A content breath left him. Once they were captured would be when he would check on the new girl. That should give her enough time to sleep again and process all of the information that Rika gave her. He smiled, and went back to check on the satellites.

 


	11. A New Savior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of writing today~ Yah yah. Hope you guys like this angsty chapter haha. Misogi, your comments keep making me laugh. Thank you, dork ~<3

Mimi was in her dark forest, walking through the abyss of nothingness.

The only bit of light that was there was the faded rays of sun that leaked through the dense canopy. It gave her just enough light to see where she was stepping, where the trunks were, where the streams were. Otherwise, there was nothing that she could see. But that didn't matter. She had traversed this area for years, memorizing every little detail, especially the details that resulted in pain.

She avoided those areas like the plague, but she would be lying if she wasn't more curious of the boy in chains. He was in the middle of a meadow, and though he was chained, the fact that he was in a meadow, with bright sun and running water, both interested and scared her.

Mimi didn't know what to do with light, especially with the light gave detail. So, once she had an excuse to make herself leave, she took it. She definitely didn't expect to see the boy wake up in front of her. It scared her half to death, but his eyes were so beautiful... such a bright blue, like his hair. He was absolutely beautiful, but she didn't know what else to do except for attempt to break his chains.

She also didn't think that the chains would break so easily. A light touch and suddenly they were broken. The boy worried her when he ended up sputtering and coughing because of it, but his eyes said that he wanted to be free, and that he didn't mind. So she continued. But when the rain came through, giving a little bit of darkness, she left. She wasn't comfortable being in the light. It brought too much detail.

She thought about all of these things as she walked in her forest, stopping suddenly to see a trail of white footprints. They were heading north, and while she was scared, she continued to follow them anyways. As cautious as she was, she was intrigued. The white brought detail to the surface of the forest. It was terrifyingly beautiful. The bright green grass and soft dirt. She didn't even realize that the trail had stopped until she bumped into him.

She squeaked, and the boy turned around and looked confused as she fell down. His skin glowed, and his eyes were so vibrant. His hair stood out above all, and his white wings were healing. The wounds along his chest, arms and legs were also starting to get better. It surprised her when she felt happy that he was getting better, and even moreso when she was happy he approached her, sitting in front of her.

He wasn't going to force her to open up to him.

When she realized that, she felt even more scared, and backed up a little. He didn't follow, only looked at her with a warm smile. He would let her do what she wanted with him, for she had saved him and gave him a purpose. There was nothing that he wouldn't do for her now, even if she were to severely hurt him like Rika. Though, he felt that she would never do something along those lines.

Eventually, he fell asleep, cuddling his wings, and she watched him, leaning her head against a tree. He really did have such a nice light..

At some point in time, she also fell asleep in her dream, making her wake up in real life. She woke up to a pair of sickly blue eyes and a mop of white hair looking at her, concerned. In repaying his concern, she squeaked and quickly sat up, accidentally hitting his forehead. He stumbled back with an "Ow! Fuck!" and she quickly said "Oh my Gosh I'm so sorry!"

"Shit, do you always freak out when someone is over you?"

"Well yeah, kind of. Never really thought about it to be honest."

"Ow, you have a hard head."

"Do you need medical attention?"

The boy looked at her like she just cracked a really bad joke.

"I think you're the one who needs medical attention. Why do you keep bleeding from your mouth at random times?"

Mimi looked down at herself, seeing blood all along her shirt, bosom, chin and the bed. She had also realized that while talking to him, her voice was raspy. She sighed and frowned.

"Damn it.."

"We're going to have to get you a new pair of clothes and wash the Savior's bed. You're lucky she's taken a liking to you."

The boy moved to leave, and she quickly grabbed his arm. "Wait!"

Saeran noticed how concerned she looked, but her eyes were still a little out of focus, like she was in a trance. That meant that the drugs were still working, and that she was still under their control. Which also meant that he had to be nice. Which in part, he didn't like. He sighed and patted her head.

"I'm just going to get you clothes and a new pair of sheets. I'll be back."

She looked hesitant, but nodded and let go of his arm. After another good look at her, he left and closed the door behind him. For one, she was an absolute mess. Leaves in her hair, blood all along her brown shirt, which was cut in several different places. The cut on her side that he had given her before seemed to be getting worse, and her skirt was worse for wear. There was barely anything to her tights anymore, and her shoes could go in for some repair. Still, strangely, she had a natural beauty to her..

Saeran shook his head and scolded himself mentally. Even if she was that pretty, that didn't change the objective at hand. Maybe if she proved herself loyal to Mint Eye, he could have some fun with her later, but at the moment, he was having a bitch of a time finding her new clothes that weren't just what the disciples wore. Finally, he found some and some good, new sheets, and made his way back to her room.

When he opened the door again, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to clean up the blood on her skin and shirt with water and paper towels. Saeran sighed again and sat the clothes down next to her. She looked up at her questionably and tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. Saeran wasn't going to lie, that was pretty fucking cute.

"What are these?"

"Clothes for you to change into. Use the shower in this room to clean yourself up and then change into those."

All Mimi did was nod, and Saeran watched her pick up the clothes gingerly and move to the bathroom, closing the door. Soon enough he heard the water going, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Of course, he had to do all the work, when all the fun was downstairs in the cells. He scoffed to himself and started to change the sheets. It must have gone longer than he thought, or Mimi took really short showers, because by the time he was done, she was out of the shower in her new outfit.

A long, flowing white top with a long, dark blue skirt that flowed whenever she walked clung to her still slightly wet body. She was brushing her black hair, the strands shining in the light. Saeran had to pinch himself to get back to reality. A drawn out sigh escaped her lips, and she resumed sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

She smiled at him. "I asked what your name is."

"Why would you want to know?"

"Well, I'm sure we both have interesting backstories to get to this point. You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

Saeran hesitated. Was she really still under the drugs? Were they still affecting her at all? Her eyes were still clouded, like she was still in her trance, but he couldn't tell. If she was still in their possession, there wouldn't be any harm telling her what the RFA did to him and Rika, right? Right. It might get her to stay, after all.

"I was abandoned by my brother with my abusive mother."

A sad look automatically came across her face. "You were abandoned..?"

"Yes, I was left to die while my mother drank the day away. He never came back."

"Who is your brother?"

"You might know him as Seven, or Luciel. His real name is Saeyoung, and he got rid of his real name to erase any part of me that he could. So I was stuck being beaten and starved for months on end, until Rika saved me. She trained me to get back at my brother, before V betrayed her."

"V..?"

"Yes. He loved others more than he loved Rika, and Rika started to feel depressed because of it. So she left him, and he's been trying to get her back ever since. He broke her heart. He has no right to be able to say that he loves her anymore."

Saeran grimaced to himself, then realized the sympathetic look coming from Mimi.

"What?"

"Nothing.. It's just that your story seems a lot like mine. Though, I don't know how you got out of it. I'm glad you did though."

Now Saeran was automatically interested. Someone who has a similar story to him? What on Earth? He ended up sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, a curious look on his face. Mimi saw that and giggled slightly. 

"I guess you really want to hear huh?"

A nod.

"Well alright.." she cleared her throat. "My brother, Utani and I, we were dealt a pretty rough hand. Our mother died giving birth to us, and when we were six, our father couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide. At age seven we were admitted to a foster home, and at age eight, we were adopted by what seemed like a good family. Turns out they just wanted some play toys, and ended up locking us underground in separate cells until we were about 14. That's when we managed to escape in the dead of winter and tried to get the paperwork that our adoptive father had burned. So yeah. I'm glad we got out."

"..What about your brother?" Saeran pried.

Mimi sighed. "It was really hard for us to get money at the time, especially enough to try and get out of Japan. To get his stress out, Utani would go to the shooting range and practice his gun skills. I guess one day a member from the Yakuza was there, and started to take notice in him. We were about 16 at the time, I think. I didn't know that the member he met that day started to train him in a bunch of skills with guns, and by age 17, he told me he was going to be joining the Yakuza to get us the money we needed. He said that he worked out a deal with them so that I would be getting some of the money, but I felt like he just wanted to get rid of me. I was wrong.

"See, still to this day, he wires money into my account with little messages hidden in the code that he used to send it. It comes from a completely anonymous account, but in the code, he likes to put where he's at, like Egypt or New York. Sometimes he'll say that he loves me instead of places that he's going to, because he can only put so much in there, ya know? Anyways, it still makes me a little happy and a little guilty. I haven't seen him in a really long time, but... it makes me happy that he keeps thinking of me. I wonder if your brother still thinks of you. I'm guessing he left for the intelligence agency because he wanted to try and protect you, because he doesn't seem to like his job that much. He may be good at it, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. I bet he still thinks about you constantly. It's just something to keep it mind."

Saeran didn't really know what to say. He was speechless. Did he just get told that Saeyoung was still thinking about him? That he still cared? That was utterly ridiculous! How on Earth would he still be caring about him after he left him in that toxic household for years on end?! That was something that he wouldn't be able to forgive for the rest of his days!

But... This girl's story seemed... odd. To say the least. That it connected to him and his situation so much. He wished that his brother had done that for him, but maybe the Yakuza were a little more lenient about that. Doubts started to run through Saeran's head, making him wonder if he was really in the right situation right now. He had captured all of them, making sure that they were beaten to a pulp and had bruised spirits, but.. was it all justified? In the end? A lot of things were racing through him thoughts, and with a deep breath, he got up and headed towards the door.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! Did I set something off in your brain? I'm so sorry!"

"No... It's fine. I'm just going to see the Savior to report on how you're doing, and maybe a couple of other things too."

"Oh.. Okay! Well, tell her that I said hi, alright? Stay safe!"

"...You too."

As he left, heading down to the main room, he chuckled to himself.

"Damn it.."

_ I get why you like her now, V. You played your ace.. _

_ You better hope you gambled right. _

  
  



	12. Clouded Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I grant you with sassy Jihyun. More to come on that department lol that was fun to write.

"I should have stayed home.. I should have stayed home.."

"Yoosung, shut the fuck up."

Everyone was getting pretty annoyed with Yoosung's crying and worrying. It really didn't help when he went over all of the ways that they were going to die, especially when he compared them all to different attacks that were featured in LOLOL. Seven was about ready to knock his head in to shut him up, and honestly, everyone else would be alright with it.

Jumin, Jaehee, and Zen were all in one cell, all of them deathly quiet. Probably because Zen was not happy to be in the same cell, and Jumin was more thinking than anything. He also seemed annoyed that his suit was all dusty from the dirty concrete. Jaehee looked worried, but confident. She occasionally looked from Zen to Jumin, and then looked down sadly at the ground. She was probably wishing for a good cup of coffee, and also thinking about all of the things that she would have to make up.

Yoosung was rocking back and forth in the same cell as Luciel, who looked very annoyed. Luciel had put on his serious face, and was playing with the cord on his headphones to keep himself distracted. They had agreed to not use their phones unless it was an absolute emergency, like they were about to be killed or something. Though many of them wanted to believe that something like that wasn't going to happen, with a place like this, anything was possible.

Jihyun watched his dearest friends in dismay. He had been put two cells from everyone, the cell next to him being empty. It was understandable that they did that; they had known that he was a mole in the organization, but couldn't really do anything about him because he was so good at hiding and getting out in time. But now, he was caught, and so was the entire RFA. And Mimi was somewhere in the complex, probably brainwashed by now.

Jihyun rested his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. He never really could take into account how well maintained this place was, since his vision had been disabled. Now, he could see that the place was taken care of, and the cells were relatively upkept. The cell bars themselves were free of rust and fairly sturdy, and it would take a lot of desperation to get through one of them, or a stealthy mind.

He sighed, starting to think about his past. A particular memory came to mind, one that he didn't want to think about but thought about anyways. It was when he finally had asked his parents for some care and attention. His mother was a music composer, and his father an artist. At the time, his sister was finding her talent in painting, while Jihyun enjoyed photography. That was one of the reasons that he got so little respect from his parents.

"Photography, while still a form of art, is low and unreasonable. I suggest that you find another medium, Jihyun."

His father would tell him that enough times to have it ring in his dreams. The house he lived in at the time had a lot of wide open spaces, so it always felt lonely unless one of his friends was there. Which, was in the end, Jumin and Rui. His timidness as a child made it hard for him to approach others unless they approached him, which is why he never really had many friends.

He used to rely on his friends a lot to get away from the emotional stress of his household. Being hounded was something that he didn't really enjoy from them, and even his sister would glare at him from time to time because he "didn't choose a good enough medium" to practice with. Their logic was that, yes, the world may be beautiful, but clicking a camera and putting a few filters on it wasn't "true" art; it was phony art, which Jihyun highly disagreed with.

When he went against their wishes and still continued with his study of photography, he started to get ignored by his family. It was as if he was never there. They didn't cook meals for him anymore, so he had to teach himself. If he tried to talk to them, they would continue to focus on what they were doing and not respond. It had really started to piss him off.

It was when he was 17, almost 18 that he snapped. He had wanted to do something for his 18th birthday, but having a party at his house was something that was not allowed. So he wanted to know if he was able to go out with his friends without being restrained to the house. So, heart heavy, he approached his parents at the family table. A bunch of decorations, fancy ones, were stationed around the table. There were vases of flowers and delicate glasses that took up where his mother and father were sitting. 

"Hey mom..?"

She continued to type on her phone, replying to a business email.

"..Dad?"

He kept on reading his paper, not taking any notice to him.

"Can I go out for my 18th birthday?"

His voice was almost a whimper, of no notice to his parents. They kept doing what they did best, being horrible parents to the likes of him. His anger started to swell up inside him. He felt alienated, hated, and it was starting to take him over. At what point in time does not picking the right medium of art constitute to neglecting a child of love?

Jihyun took the tablecloth and pulled it off of the table. Wine spilt all over the table, glass shattered all over the floor, and the potted flowers fell in a mush of petals, dirt and spilled wine. For the first time in months, his parents looked up at him. Even if it was a glare, he had gotten their attention. That was enough for him.

"Will you FUCKING LISTEN TO ME?"

His yell was desperate, pleading. He wanted them to acknowledge him. Say something to him, anything. Even if it's scolding, yelling at him, that was all that he asked. All he got was a glare, and his parents silently moving around glass to go to their rooms. When he heard the door slam, that was the breaking point for him. He sobbed, fell on the floor and stayed there until his sister found him there when she got home from college. She asked if he was okay, the mess still very much so present. All he did was cry harder, because someone asking that was a miracle.

His sister ended up arranging that he live with Jumin until he was old enough to officially move out. Jihyun's parents would call occasionally, to check that he was at least alive, but there was no form of love or sympathy in their voice. It was more to check if he had gotten anywhere with his photography. When he finally got famous with his form of art, he got a call, with them apologizing. Their form of apologizing was saying that they bought him a house and a couple of sports cars. He graciously accepted the gift, only to find out that his parents would also be moving abroad, along with his sister, in the process. It was still infuriating.

It was with Rika that he felt relief from that, he realized. Instead of being the one people wanted to help, he wanted to help her, help her get to a stable place in her life. He realized now that something like that wasn't going to be possible unless she got severe medical treatment. Her aphasia and depression was too much for even her to handle, and Mint Eye was the result of his actions.

Why did he even have that memory come up? It just made his mood worse. That his real name was such a burden to him was really the jist of it. They never said it, and when they did, it was to scold him. He only gave his name to people that he felt safe with, which being Rui, Jumin, Mimi and Rika. Rika no longer felt safe though, and now..

Jihyun! Haha, sorry. I just love saying your name! It fits you so well.

..Yes. That's why it came up. A smile spread across his face. If he was being honest with himself, hearing her say his name in such a cheerful and upbeat way made him like his name more. He didn't know what it was with this girl and making him feel absolutely accepted, but she somehow managed it. It was.. amazing. It was a feeling that he never really had with.. anybody. With people in high school, or his parents, or even Rika.

It was a ever constant battle with Rika, to make sure that she was safe enough with herself whilst at the same time trying to balance work. The talk that he had with Mimi completely changed his views. He thought that his purpose was to help others, to allow them to feel some sort of relief, even if it meant that he would destroy himself. He would do that for the one that he loved. Jihyun realized that even he couldn't do that constantly, and to have someone allow him to hold them and cry on their shoulder? That was enough for him.

"What are you smiling at?"

Jihyun looked down to see Rika standing in front of his cell, glare deep and an expression so stern it could cut through glass. This was the first time he was fully seeing her in a long while, and though his eyes still needed some work done, it was clear enough to notice the bright locks of hair, the royal-looking robes surrounding her, and the eyes so dead that they must have had a funeral. Usually, he would feel a pang of guilt when he saw her like this. Instead he felt anger.

"Not you, that's for sure," he snarkily responded. "Though, you look beautiful. But I'm not here for you."

The shocked look on her face was priceless, and he almost laughed outloud at it. He had to keep himself back from even giggling, because now was not the time to giggle at the leader of a cult. That could have bad results, to say the least. The shock turned to silent fury, and she opened his cell, pulled him up by his collar, slammed him against the wall and held him by the neck.

"...You fixed your eyes." Her growl was so powerful that it sent shivers down his spine, but he wasn't about to give up. Not when he was so close.

"I did."

"You said you would give your eyes for me, that you would love me forever."

"Yeah? And when I realized that this was an abusive relationship, I kind of opened my eyes. Literally."

_ That sounds like an abusive relationship to me, V. Rika hurt you physically and emotionally, and took control of your emotions. Does that really sound healthy to you? _

_...No. No it doesn't. _

_ Then you should do something about it. It's scary, yeah, I recognize that. But if you don't do something about it, the situation just gets worse. You will always deserve more than pain from others. Remember that you're always worthy of love, no matter who you are. _

Rika pushed down on his windpipe, causing V to sputter for air. What was he saying?! This was an abusive relationship between her and him?! How could he say something like that when he had promised to love her, and only her, for the rest of his life?! He was her sun! And only her sun! How dare he give that to someone else! If anything...

"You were the one who abused me, you bastard!" Rika screamed, throwing him to the ground, leaving him coughing for air. She didn't give him much time to recover though, with her foot meeting his abdomen again and again. Sounds of pain came as a satisfying relief to her, mixed in with the sounds of everyone else crying out for her to stop, calling his name.

"V! Fight back damn it!" 

"C'mon V! Get up!"

"You have a responsibility to save her, damn it! Get up and save Mimi!"

That obviously struck a nerve with him, and Rika gave out a gasp on surprise when he grabbed onto her leg and forced her to stop. She never thought she would ever see her V glare at her that way, with a fire of anger burning in his eyes that she never thought that he possessed. Usually he was so timid and took anything she gave to him, whether that be love or pain. Now... Now she was seeing an entirely different side of him, someone more energetic and vocal.

Though, her kicks had gotten him hard. He tried to sit back up, to try and be proactive in saving Mimi, but a familiar, metallic taste met his mouth, and all he managed was to lean against the bars. Rika gave out a sinister laugh, pulled her leg away, and pulled him up by his hair. Then, looking at the rest of the RFA, she smirked.

"We'll be coming to get you guys shortly. I'm going to take this traitor now."

"What are you going to do with him?!" Saeyoung yelled, ramming his body against the bars in protest. Jumin was trying to figure out a way to get cell reception so that he could call his security, which wasn't working well. He was getting help from Jaehee to work his phone, and Zen was working on the lock in the most pathetic manner possible. Yoosung joined Saeyoung in ramming the bars, and Rika only smiled at their miserable attempts at breaking out.

"Oh, Mimi has a treat for V. I should be lucky that you guys accepted someone so gullible to nice words and gestures into the RFA. Now, let's go sweetie. Mimi's been waiting long enough."


	13. Until Death Do Us Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi have a very angsty chapter. More angst to come. I may or may not have left you off on a cliff hanger. Also sorry for not posting for a while, life got a little crazy there.

Rika's grip on V's neck was anything but friendly.

It felt like he was getting bruises just from her hands, but she forcibly lead him through the halls and away from the jail room. It wasn't easy, because Rika was short and his abdomen felt like he had gotten stabbed. He knew where they were going though; he had been through these halls many times as a mole, and now, he was being taken to the main room. Which was never a good thing.

Rika pushed open two giant doors with blue accents, leading to a throne covered in red velvet, a red carpet leading to the throne, and candles all along the room. She threw V to the ground, his landing giving him a good amount of coughs. Disciples lined the room, and it was eerie how many of them looked like they were in a trance. But there was one of them, put in the corner, who looked overly aware. Jihyun didn't think much of it, and turned his attention to Rika, who had sat down on her throne. The disciples in the room dropped to their knees.

As Jihyun struggled to sit up, to do anything, another disciple pulled him up by his hair, made him sit on his knees, and roughly tied his hands behind his back. Everything in his body screamed with pain, and the metallic taste was starting to become stronger in his mouth. But because of his new position, he could now clearly see Rika, as well as the two people who stood beside him. He almost bit his tongue with anger.

On Rika's left was Saeran. Of course, he looked smug as ever, happy to see Jihyun like this. He could see the wheels turning in his head, wondering what sadistic things he should do to Jihyun. Not to mention that he looked antsy, ready to get whatever they were planning. Saeran kept looking back and forth between Jihyun and Rika, and occasionally at the other person on Rika's right.

Miyumi stood there, seeming more in a trance than anyone else. They had given her new clothes, dressing her in all white. A white skirt and blouse, hair done up with a bow, gloves, tights and flats. Jihyun couldn't help himself from thinking of how beautiful she looked, but one look at her eyes made him scold himself for thinking of such a thing in such a tense situation.

Her eyes were dead, like Rika's. There was no life in there, and it seemed like she was on autopilot. Mimi also didn't look focused, either. Like she was in another dimension and not presently in her body. Whatever Rika had said to her, it must have worked. Jihyun recalled that on the phone, she had seemed to be coming down from the high, but now, he wondered if they had given her any more to make her in such a state.

He heard a laugh from Rika, making his attention move back to her. She had a sinister look on her face, and she lightly grabbed Mimi's arm, leading her to Rika's lap. Mimi obeyed, and Rika began stroking her hair. Jihyun tried to move from his bonds, but was only able to make his pain worse for himself. Another laugh echoed the chamber.

"Yes V, do you like my new disciple? She's beautiful, isn't she? She'll make a good underling."

"Let her go!"

"Oooh? What's this? Feeling protective, are we?"

"She didn't do anything!"

"She made you fall in love."

"She made me realize how much of a bitch you are!"

Rika's hand stopped, giving a stern glare to him.

"Well, good thing that she's such a good pawn then."

"I wouldn't say things like that when she can hear you."

"Oh, on the contrary. She can't hear anything from anyone, only does what people command her to do. Which means that she is entirely in my control, and she can now play her part in making the RFA suffer. Would you like that, deary?"

She directed the last question to Miyumi, who groggily nodded against Rika's chest. It gained another smile from her, and she lightly kissed Miyumi's head. 

"That's a good girl. You see,  _ Jihyun _ , she thinks that you have completely abandoned her. That you were the one who gave her an immense amount of pain, and that you meant her to fall into depravity. I allowed her to believe that she was safe here, and safe in my arms. It seems that I have become a motherly figure to her, but if it allows me to use her in whatever way I want to, then that is perfectly fine with me."

Rika smiled down at her new play thing, unaware of how uncomfortable Saeran looked to her side. If there was anything that Saeran could detect, it was manipulation within another person, and this was top notch manipulation. He knew that she had given her a different type of dose, but whatever it was, it was apparently very effective. He was used to the process by now, but this was the first time that it occurred to him that he could be in Miyumi's position, not able to act without the command of others.

While Rika was distracted, Jihyun caught the look of discomfort that Saeran was sending to her. It was almost as if he was begging her to notice, to notice that he wasn't okay with the situation. Saeran looked in Jihyun's direction, catching his eye for a brief second, and then returning to his previous posture. It made Jihyun more than a little confused. This entire time, he had been attempting to get through to him that Saeran was being manipulated, but it was obvious that Saeran wasn't as good at detecting it as he thought. Whatever had gotten through to him, it might just be his ticket out of there.

_ I'm guessing he left for the intelligence agency because he wanted to try and protect you, because he doesn't seem to like his job that much. He may be good at it, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. I bet he still thinks about you constantly. It's just something to keep in mind. _

Saeran balled up his fists when he remembered what she had said. It had been ringing in his head ever since, and it was honestly beginning to make him doubt him being here. And now that he just heard Rika talk about pawns and underlings, he felt a strange sort of anger. Was everything that he was doing right now actually being played against him? Was his brother really the bad guy, or was he standing next to the biggest villain in his life. Rika seemed to have forgotten that even if Miyumi couldn't process what she was saying, he could, and he had a gun.

The tension in the room was as strong as molasses. The only person who couldn't notice it though was Rika, who continued to stroke Miyumi's hair. Eventually she sighed, and ordered her to stand up. Miyumi stood up, resuming her position back beside the throne, making way for Rika to step down to Jihyun. With a satisfied sigh, she full on punched him in his jaw, the momentum knocking him over.

With grunts and winces, Jihyun once again tried his luck with his bonds, only making another volcano of pain erupt in his stomach. He was once again pulled out by his hair, some strands detaching themselves at the force. He was in so much pain, so much so that his vision was starting to get a tad bit blurry. But he was so close, yet so far.

"You said our souls were connected."

As he was forced to look back up at Rika, he had a moment of admiration. He remembered why he fell in love with her in the first place, how beautiful she was staring at his picture. She had locks like the sun, eyes as green as the grass. But now, the sun was clouded in her hair, obviously half heartedly taken care of. Her eyes were almost like a wilted field, and though her robes were well taken care of, there were still stains all around. It was obvious that she was deteriorating.

"You said that I was your sun."

Another punch. Jihyun's ears started ringing, and he started to cough again, licking at the cut that had formed on his lip. He could feel his cheek starting to bleed, and he started analyzing from his peripherals what the best route of escape was, while getting ahold of Miyumi at the same time.

"Do you really think that you can defy me?"

He started coughing again when her foot collided with his abdomen. A smirk grew on his face, and he started laughing. It hurt, but he couldn't handle himself. He started laughing so hard that he started coughing again, then directed his smirk up to his ex. Rika looked surprised, enough to stop her barrage of pain to him.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I get it now. We were nothing but your playthings. Me, Jumin, the entire RFA, Rie... all of us. We were just something to play with. You brought Rie into the mix just so you could fuck with us more, and to cause pain. You knew that Rie would be affective against us, and that Rie would be easy to manipulate. You probably used Saeran to look up Rie, and your goal was to find someone who seemed nice enough to get through to us, maybe romance one of us, while at the same time doing as much harm as you could whilst simultaneously getting the information from your previous parties. You were trying to make new disciples, while also trying to gain a lynchpin in the RFA through Rie."

Jihyun's eyes darted to Mimi, giving a little smile before bringing his eyes back to Rika. It was working, because Mimi looked confused, her eyebrows furrowed and focusing more on Jihyun. She seemed more focused, more back into the world, but it wasn't over yet. He knew that. She was still drugged to all hell, but at least if he could break through to her, there was more of a chance.

_ Jihyun, you know as well as I do that this situation that I've been put in with the RFA is dangerous. There's still the hacker out there, and I wouldn't be surprised if something happened. If that happens, and I don't seem like myself, either because I'm trying to keep myself from giving information out or because of some other means, call me by my real name. _

_ Your real name? _

_ Yes.. The truth is, I don't go by my first name. Miyumi is my last name, but no one ever said it when I was younger. To me, my real name is something of intense fear, and something that snapped me out of whatever reality I had put myself in. My real name being called meant that I was in danger, and that I was likely to get hurt. I began to use that a while ago for good rather than evil, and when I went into... I guess, defense mode, I would be brought back by the sound of my name. _

_ Why does it bring you fear? _

_ It meant that my father was coming home. _

_...What is your real name? _

_...Rie. Rie Miyumi. _

With a final punch to V's jawline, Rika started walking back to her throne. Instead of going directly to her throne, though, she instead stood in front of Saeran. The size comparison on a regular day would have been funny, since she was a foot smaller than him, but Saeran looked at her with absolute horror.

"Gun." Her hand was outstretched to him, and for once, Saeran hesitated.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to put him in his place. Give me the gun."

"...No."

"What?"

"She doesn't deserve this."

"...Are you.. disobeying me..?"

"I'm not going to let you--"

He was cut off with Rika's fist meeting his jawline, making him tumble to the floor. Even though Rika's knuckles were bleeding, she didn't seem the least phased by it. She simply picked up the gun while Saeran was recovering, and handed it to Miyumi. Another smile rose to her face, one of pure evil.

"Mimi, I order you to kill V."

  
  



	14. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACK! Sorry guys! There's been a ton of stuff going on in my life, and I've been pretty busy. Sorry for not getting the chapter out sooner! And also for leaving all of you on a cliffhanger. Actually no I'm not that sorry for that lol. Hope you enjoy more angst.

Mimi took the gun without hesitation.

The look she had was something of confusion, anger, and cluelessness, all combined with her trance-like eyes. She still wasn't focused on anything, let alone knowing anything of her actions, and started making her way down towards Jihyun. But the scenes that were playing out in her head were the reason why the drugs didn't have as much as an effect.

Her forest was pitch black. She couldn't see anything, and was entirely relying on her senses to be able to navigate. Though, it was hard to be able to find out where she was going. She didn't know her forest as well as she thought, and as she ran in blind panic, she kept falling. He scared her, and she was told that he would betray him, that he would make her feel more pain. 

She didn't want more pain. She just wanted to be free of it.

The more she ran, the more she felt her demons catching up to her. Mimi was on the verge of screaming, and on the verge of calling out for someone to help her, but the thought of help seemed to make her more scared than she realized. It was when she fell once again into a muddy stream that she stopped to breathe. Her legs were scratched, her torso covered in mud and leaves. She felt like giving up. Giving in. Until she heard the rain.

Her head instinctively rose up towards the sound, finding herself looking back into the meadow. The boy was there, looking up at the dark sky, smiling at the rain. His wings were healed, shining brightly and laying on the tall grass. He looked... happy. He looked safe. Even in this moment of panic, he was able to smile, and that smile turned to her. For a moment, she was looking down at him, gun shaking in her hand with his smile beaming up at her.

"J-Ji..."

"Rie."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, the gun violently shaking in her hands.

"Rie, do you remember our little date?"

Rie looked into his eyes, and her shaking quelled a little bit. Jihyun's smile got wider. She was regaining consciousness and recognizing him. Though the gun was still there, it was less dangerous now. He had a chance to break through.

"Rie, do you remember how happy you were that day? You couldn't stop smiling, even when we were talking about serious things. Do you remember that you allowed me to cry, to hold you and get my feelings out? Rie, you changed my life. Let me be your light, as you were my rain. Okay.. Rie? ..Put down the gun. Please."

Her tears increased when she realized that the boy from her dreams had been in front of her this entire time, trying to bring light to her forest. He sat there, in the rain, smiling at her, holding out his hand. Rie ran to him, and he accepted her with open arms. The feeling of their souls connecting, and her wings growing back was indescribable. She was connected with someone, someone who really cared..

A shot rang out through the room, gaining her cheers and a scream from Jihyun.

When her eyes focused, Jihyun was leaning over, blood falling from his right shoulder, and clearly in pain. The gun was pointed at where his shoulder was, and with wide eyes, Rie stepped back, in shock. Did.. she really just..? She tuned out the yelling around her, falling to her knees. She didn't notice Seven gently pulling the gun away from her fingers, or that she eventually had passed out while in an emergency ambulance. She had no recollection of her and Jihyun heading to the hospital, or that the entire way there, Jihyun held her hand with his one good arm, and wouldn't let go.

* * *

 

The rehabilitation process was hard.

After the event, Rie refused to speak. Later it was found that her larynx system had been irritated and damaged, making it hard for her to speak. It was also revealed to the group that it had only been a year since she had been able to speak, and was speaking in sign language and morse code until that point in time came. She had apparently been hoping to sing again, but it would have taken a lot more recovering for her to get to that point.

It had also been revealed that from putting so much strain on her voice box, she had made the damage worse. While on the way to Mint Eye, when she hadn't been drugged, Rie was screaming and struggling, doing whatever she could to get out. It had been about two weeks since the incident, and while Rie's physical injuries were healed from the event, she was still coming down from some of the drugs. It was difficult to get her mental state in order when therapy wasn't an option, so the RFA visited her often. 

They had ended up going to a more private hospital, courtesy of Jumin, to get everyone into proper shape to either go back to normal life or be moved to a more, longer term treatment. Rika and Saeran were also going under treatment, and Rika was soon to be moved to a mental ward that would keep her for the rest of her days. The ward was far away, a long drive to be sure, but eventually, Jihyun had made the decision to sign for her to go there. He said that he would take care of the costs and the insurance payments.

Saeran was going to be staying at the hospital longer, going into the detox unit. They had to use restraints on him, since him coming down off of the drugs was much more serious than Rie's reaction, though at some points they had to use restraints on her as well. Saeran's therapy resulted in him injuring a therapist, making the employers there start to question whether they should put him in the nearby ward as well, though it wouldn't be one as serious as Rika's. 

The RFA was having quite a hard time going through everything, what with the two founders being either seriously injured or seemingly brought back to life, an unstable brother being found and a cherished member being seriously injured. Yoosung, Zen and Jaehee had all started to attend individual therapy, while Jumin and Seven requested time off from work to deal with what had happened in their own way. Either way, all of them had made frequent visits to both Rie and Jihyun, who were both still bedridden in different rooms.

Jihyun was recovering faster than Rie, even though he underwent surgery and fully fixed the the last problems with his eyes. It was said that he was going to be discharged in a couple days or so, and he was glad. He was antsy. He wanted to see how she was doing, and though it was nice to have clear vision again, he got it for her. He wanted to see her in her full glory, but it was said that he wouldn't be able to do that for a long while. Rie would soon be moved to a ward as well, and unlike Saeran, it was confirmed that she would be doing so. She had signed the papers willingly, and she said that for the time being, while she would be there, she didn't want guests.

"She feels really guilty for what she did to you," Saeyoung told Jihyun in a private visit. Saeyoung had gone to visit Rie earlier, and strangely, he seemed to know morse code. His expression was serious, looking down at the floor next to his bed.

"She was fully conscious, she said, when she shot you. She said there was a moment of panic when your souls touched, which made her react in a way to pull the trigger. I don't really know what that means, but I thought that you would understand more about it."

Jihyun nodded sadly. "Yes. So she felt it too, I see."

"What was she talking about?"

Jihyun smiled slightly. "Both her soul and my soul were broken, I guess. She used her 'rain' to break my chains, and I used my 'light' to give her peace. That was the concept. In the end, they combined, and it seemed like she gained light and I gained rain. To be honest, I find it very beautiful. I feel very connected with her right now. It may be confusing, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to understand the feelings that we feel right now."

Saeyoung simply nodded and looked back down at the floor, a deep sigh coming from him. His eyes wandered to Jihyun's cast in his arm, and he thought about the bandages on his torso that would have to be dealt with when being discharged. He was well enough to go back home, but it was evident that he would still be slightly bedridden to be able to heal properly.

There was something else that Saeyoung noticed about V. It had been a long while since he had seen his real eye color, for sure, but there was still something different about him. Maybe it was the glint of confidence he now had, which didn't come around very often. He also seemed more energetic, and was speaking his mind more. Saeyoung gave a small smile. Yes, V had changed alright. At least this time it was for the better.

"Y'know V... I don't know if I can forgive you."

Jihyun looked up from his examining of his cast, and gave a quizzical look.

"For which part?"

That cracked a small smile from Luciel.

"For hiding everything. We could have helped you, and you once again took the burden on yourself. Not to mention you knew about Saeran and Rika. So... I don't know if I can forgive you."

"You don't have to forgive me. There's not reason for you to. All I ask is that the RFA accepts me back. If that's not possible, then at least let me stay friends with all of you."

"Are you kidding me? Mimi wouldn't dare let you leave the RFA."

Jihyun laughed at that. "I guess you're right. She's become quite the leader in the group now."

"V... While I can't forgive you for what you've done..."

"Hm?"

"...I'm glad you found someone else to love. Treat her well, okay?"

Jihyun smiled, seeing the small amount of sadness that Saeyoung held. "I will. After all, we both are forms of the true route, right?"

Saeyoung looked up and nodded, sniffling. "Yeah. I already had my turn. She probably won't reset after yours. So take care of her, for all of us."

"I will, Saeyoung. I will."

Wiping his eyes, Saeyoung stood up and silently left the room, leaving Jihyun to his silence. A deep breath escaped him, and he instinctively grabbed his phone, staring at his background. A little laugh was audible as he remembered the picture. Mimi and him at the cafe, taking a surprise selfie. He locked his phone and attempted to sleep.

  
  



	15. What.

This is a very surreal moment, figuring out that my fan fic for the v route is very VERY similar to the actual v route itself.  
I must be magic lolol.


End file.
